Anandaraj & Vijayakanth Movies Together List — 10 Films

The shape of the work

The 1990s account for 70% of everything they made together. The 1980s belonged to Senthoora Poove; the 2000s to Engal Anna. Anandaraj acted in every film; Vijayakanth acted in all of them. Strictly Tamil cinema — they never crossed industries together.

Partnership facts

• Their first film together, Senthoora Poove (1988), almost didn't happen. Vijayakanth was already a rising star, but Anandaraj was still a stuntman doubling for heroes. Director S. A. Chandrasekhar took a chance on casting Anandaraj as the villain opposite Vijayakanth — and that fight scene in the climax became the template for every villain-hero showdown they'd do later.
• In Pulan Visaranai (1990), Anandaraj played a cold-blooded killer who never flinched. Vijayakanth, as the cop, had to match that stillness with controlled rage. The trick they worked out: Anandaraj would slow his breathing before a take, and Vijayakanth would speed his up. That rhythm — one ice, one fire — made their face-offs feel like a ticking bomb.
• Bharathan (1992) is infamous — it got a 1/10 rating and is widely considered one of the worst Tamil films ever. But here's the thing: because it bombed so hard, both actors swore off doing a full-on comedy together again. That decision pushed Vijayakanth deeper into action-hero roles and Anandaraj into pure villain parts. One terrible movie reshaped both their careers.
• On the sets of Periyanna (1999), Anandaraj would bring homemade biryani for the entire crew — but only if Vijayakanth ate first. It started as a joke: Vijayakanth would take one bite, nod, and only then would Anandaraj serve everyone else. They kept this ritual for every film after that, even on Engal Anna (2004) when they were both much bigger stars.
• Kannupada Poguthaiya (1999) was the only film where Anandaraj played a character with a soft side opposite Vijayakanth — a rare switch from their usual cop-vs-criminal dynamic. That performance directly inspired director A. R. Murugadoss to cast Anandaraj as a sympathetic villain in Ghajini (2005), which became a massive hit. No Kannupada Poguthaiya, no Ghajini villain.